This is another major milestone in the development of the FoamAroma story. There are two new West Coast distributors of FoamAroma.
1) Geopak Importers, Inc. is an importer and distributor of paper hot drink cups. The owner, George Shlyapin, learned about FoamAroma through a mutual contact after the Portland SCAA show in April 2012. George and I decided that the marriage of his cups with FoamAroma was a natural fit. The cups are of high quality, unique with built in insulation that does not require a sleeve, and can be custom printed in small lots of 25,000 cups. Plus they offer an 8oz cup that takes the same lid as the 12oz cup. Geopak’s distribution point is Oakland, CA, which offers a great location to distribute FoamAroma after being shipped from the Florida manufacturing plant. www.geopakimports.com
2) Nortwest Coffee Roasters is a new venture with owners Jeff and Jessica Samuelson. They offer espresso machine servicing, barista training, wholesale locally roasted beans, FoamAroma lids, and Geopak cups. The warehouse is in Vancouver, WA, with current servicing to the I-5 corridor from Salem, OR, to Seattle, WA, and a few coastal and Columbia Gorge locations. www.northwestcoffeeroaters.com
The story below is so typical of the affect FoamAroma will have on the daily life of millions of people. They are all worthy of a better coffee experience on the go.
In Heathrow airport coming home from London Coffee Festival I passed out a few lids in the terminal. I was at the gate for the flight to Minneapolis/St. Paul and started talking with a lady about the lid on her Costa coffee. She did not think there were any problems with the lid. As I began discussing the issues I saw a man eyeing FoamAroma and listening to our conversation. When I got to the problem about the geyser squirt he gave a big nod and smiled. I then moved over between both of them and chatted. He explained that he lives off a long gravel road and drives a 4WD truck. He drinks two cappuccinos a day and has a problem driving the bumpy road while holding the coffee trying to prevent the geyser squirt. Both of these people typically get their coffee from Caribou Coffee. I gave both of them some FoamAroma lids.
The man sent me an email the next day. Below is our email thread.
Hey Craig - I tried the lid this morning and it does everything you said it would. I passed the other lid onto my morning coffee stop “Caribou Coffee” in Elk River, MN and it was passed onto the store manager with your coaster card. Good Luck with your Invention. Successfully Caffeinated with No Spillage – K.M.
Hey K.M. - What a nice surprise this morning to get your email. Thank you for the effort and time to reach out and say hi. I am constantly amazed how this little lid can make a difference in people’s lives. Feedback like yours is what drives me. May I use your email below as a testimonial? Besides preventing the geyser squirt effect, did the Caribou coffee taste better and could you feel the foam? Thank you again. You Are Worthy! (Twitter = #URworthy) Foam On – Craig
Hey Craig - Yes! On all accounts! It was the best cup of Joe I have tasted in a while. The cup was empty by the time I arrived at work. Thanks again – K.M.
